


Same Same But Different

by Ace_From_Outer_Space, Nothing_You_Can_Prove



Category: Butterfly Soup (Visual Novel)
Genre: Cute, F/F, Feels, Fluff, Romance, all that good gay stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-26 08:36:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20927273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ace_From_Outer_Space/pseuds/Ace_From_Outer_Space, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nothing_You_Can_Prove/pseuds/Nothing_You_Can_Prove
Summary: Diya, Min, Akarsha and Noelle make plans to meet up... the only problem? When the time comes, Diya is nowhere to be seen.





	Same Same But Different

**Author's Note:**

> I played this a while ago and somehow didn't do anything for it. Shame on me, lol. Time to rectify that!

Warm rays of afternoon sunlight bathed the quiet neighborhood as Noelle walked. A few cars passed, dogs barking in the distance. She still didn’t know exactly how she convinced her mom to let her leave the house today. Some kind of miracle. Even if there was some unforeseen price she needed to pay in the future, she would happily take it. Anything to get out of that place for a while...

“Bonjoooour, Frenchman!”

Akarsha ran full speed at Noelle, who sidestepped her at the last possible minute. Skidding to a halt, Akarsha narrowly avoided faceplanting into a streetlight. Her almost offensively bright jacket, currently tied around her waist, billowed behind her in the wind. Noelle’s usually stoic expression cracked for a second at the bizarre entrance. She didn’t want Akarsha to see, so began walking away. 

“Whoa, wait for me.”

It only took a moment for Akarsha to catch up, mirroring her pace. Feeling her face twitch, Noelle slowed down. Akarsha did too. When Noelle skipped a step, so did Akarsha. It was _ beyond _infuriating.

“Stop that.”

“What?”

“Walking _ exactly _how I’m walking.”

Noelle’s pace quickened, trying to throw Akarsha off. It worked… for a few seconds.

“You’re the one who keeps saying I should be more like you.”

“Not like… this,” Noelle replied, frustrated.

“Oh, so I should wear a beret and walk around with a baguette too.” Akarsha pretended to write notes on her hand. “Got it.” 

“Why do I even bother?” Noelle mumbled under her breath.

Fortunately, for Noelle’s sanity, it didn’t take them much longer to get to the meeting point. Min was already there. Alone. Before Noelle could express her surprise, Akarsha sprinted across the road, not even looking. 

“PARKOOOOOUR!”

“Look before you cross, moron!” Noelle shouted after her, feeling her heart spike. 

She sighed with relief when Akarsha got to the other side unscathed, then followed her path much more cautiously. 

Akarsha grinned when Min looked her way. “What up, Mini Mouse?” 

She was proud of the nickname, both encapsulating Min’s height and the fact that she’d rather die than be considered cute… by anyone except Diya, at least.

“I _ told _you,” Min gritted her teeth, “not to call me that or I’d gut you like a pig.”

“You diiiiiid?” Akarsha put a hand to her now open mouth in mock shock. 

She knew Min wouldn’t do that to her. A few months ago perhaps, but not now. They had an active truce in play, after all. Noelle scoffed at their antics when she finally caught up, hiding an involuntary smile. 

“Oh, lookie here. Frenchman thinks she’s better than us.” Akarsha nudged Min’s ribs, hard enough to warrant a much harder counterattack. “Ow, _ betrayal! _”

Min casually flipped her off.

“I don’t just _ think _so, I know so,” Noelle announced smugly. “You two wouldn’t know genius if it smacked you square in the face.”

Min’s fists clenched, more out of habit than genuine anger. “I’ll show you smacked in the face.”

Even though she was seventy - mmm, maybe sixty-five - percent sure this wouldn’t get violent, Akarsha dramatically slid between them, arms stretched out as wide as possible. Then, she lifted her front leg up in the air, wobbling as she waved her arms in the air like a drunken octopus and let out an elongated “Hwaaaaaaaa” sound.

Min frowned at the strange display. "What the fuck are you doing?"

Akarsha didn't look at her, closing her eyes as she entered an almost zen state. 

"I am a tree, roots firm in the earth. With the almighty power of nature on my side, nobody can move me."

Noelle crossed her arms and raised a quizzical eyebrow. “That really answered the question.”

They should all be used to Akarsha’s personal brand of weirdness by now; they were, to a point. Sometimes, it still came out of left field, though.

Akarsha opened her eyes and put her leg down before she could fall over. "I'm defusing the situation, duh."

"You are a…” Noelle paused, censoring the original insult she had in mind. “...an idiot."

"No,” Akarsha shook her head aggressively, “I'm a tree. See, _ now _who's the idiot who can't even listen?"

Akarsha bopped Noelle’s nose and grinned, so bright and carefree. A genuine smile she would never have managed earlier this year. Noelle cleared her throat, feeling her heart jolt and melt. Only a little. Maybe it was heartburn… yeah, that had to be it. _ It definitely wasn’t, but she couldn’t even admit that to herself. _

Rolling her eyes, Min checked her phone. No messages from Diya yet.

“I thought Diya would walk with you,” Noelle said once she successfully resisted Akarsha’s further poking and prodding.

Min shrugged and shoved her hands in her pockets, trying to pretend it didn’t faze her. “She said she had something to do.”

“Like what?”

“I dunno, she didn’t tell me.”

That was strange. Diya rarely went anywhere without one of them, let alone in secret. 

“Keeping secrets, eh. _ Suspicious _.” Akarsha stroked her chin, then turned to Noelle. “What say you, my dear Watson?”

“First of all, you’re Watson. We all know I’m the brain behind the operation.”

Akarsha ignored her, starting to pace up and down the sidewalk. Then, without warning, she halted and thrust her arm in the air. 

“A-ha, I have it!” She hunched over, putting her hands out in front. “Aliens.”

The moment the word left her mouth, Noelle facepalmed. “Are you kidding me?”

“Nope. I am being totally serious right now.”

“I can’t believe I’m even entertaining this right now…” Noelle shook her head, then sighed. “Even _ if _, by some strange and never seen before miracle, you are right for once, why would they take Diya?”

“Maybe she was in the wrong place at the wrong time…” Akarsha’s eyes widened, her voice dropping to a whisper, “..._ or maybe she’s a reincarnation of an old alien god and they’ve come to take her home. _”

Noelle sighed deeply, rubbing her temples. “That is ridiculous-” 

“I’ll punch them all with knuckledusters,” Min interrupted eagerly. “I’ll tape three bazooka together - one fires knives - and blow up their stupid floating spaceship and rescue Diya.”

“If you blow it up now, you’ll blow her up too.”

“Fine, I’ll rescue her, _ then _blow it up.”

Before Noelle could try to argue further, they heard a soft shuffling sound closeby. They all turned. Diya stood there awkwardly, a bag in her hand. She had been there a while, unsure how to enter the conversation without completely derailing it. Her friends looked like they were having fun, so she didn’t want to disturb them.

“How long have you been standing there?” Noelle asked, her expression softening instantly.

Diya shrugged, the bag rustling. “Don’t know.”

“She’s like a ninja,” Akarsha said, eyes filled with awe as she bowed. “Teach me your ways, oh wise sensei.”

“Quit it with the anime shit,” Min grumbled as she shoved Akarsha.

This caused a domino effect. Akarsha lost her balance, grabbing onto Noelle in a blind panic. The two girls, disoriented and dazed, plummeted to the ground. Before they could hit the sidewalk, Diya scooped them both into her arms, her hand still firmly clutched onto the bag handles. 

“Ah, my hero,” Akarsha said, patting Diya’s shoulder.

“This is _ your _fault,” Noelle pointed out angrily.

“Define fault.”

“Fault: responsibility for an accident or misfortune.”

Akarsha smirked, knowing Noelle couldn’t help herself. “Define accident.”

“Accident: an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury.”

“Define-”

“Don’t make me deck you,” Min growled threateningly.

When Noelle felt semi-human again, she looked up at Diya. “Uh, Diya, thanks for catching us but… you can let go now.”

Diya had continued to hold onto Noelle and Akarsha until now, eager to avoid a potential fistfight. The second Noelle pointed it out, she released them. It was so sudden, they almost fell over again. 

Noelle straightened her shirt, then cleared her throat. “Now we’re all here, we can go.”

Min scowled. “Who died and made you leader?” 

“Someone with much more sense than you.” A wry grin crept onto Noelle’s face. “I guess that could be anyone, though.”

“You’re lucky Diya’s here…” Min muttered under her breath.

The four of them started their journey down the street. On their way, they passed by Min and Diya’s eventful first date spot.

"It’s a shame we can't go to Snowcastle anymore." 

Noelle shot an accusatory glare at Min, who shrugged nonchalantly, turning to hide a slight blush. 

“They’re lucky I only broke one table.”

“How would you even-?” Noelle’s sighed, shaking her head and holding up a hand. “Nevermind, I don’t want to know.”

Diya’s face was stuck between overwhelming joy - remembering her first kiss with Min - and abject horror, recalling the embarrassing situation. So many people… all staring. At her and Min. She felt a hand on hers as Min gently intertwined their fingers. This did nothing to help her already pink cheeks.

“C’mon, let’s go.”

With a grin, Akarsha suddenly grabbed Noelle’s hand and pulled her along, violently swinging their arms. 

“Hey!” Noelle tried to pull away, Akarsha’s grip only tightening. “Knock it off.”

“Knock what off?”

“It feels like you’re going to pull my arm out of its socket.”

“Okay, Frenchie. If you say so…”

In the blink of an eye, Akarsha dropped Noelle’s hand… instead grabbing her from behind by the waist and twirled her around. Noelle shrieked loudly, accompanied by Akarsha’s gleeful giggles. Once again, Diya came to their rescue to stop them both collapsing to the ground in an undignified heap. 

“Whoa, Frenchman, there are like... five of you,” Akarsha said, the world around her spinning.

Noelle clamped her eyes shut, leaning against Diya. “I don’t even… want to check... how many of you… there are…”

“There can only be one! I’ll fight these imposters!” 

Akarsha mimicked drawing a dueling sword, nearly falling over again. Diya caught her arm, pulling her upright. 

“You should let her fall,” Min suggested. “She wouldn’t do it again.”

“She would.” Noelle finally opened her eyes, cautiously straightening up. “She… doesn’t learn.”

Akarsha shrugged with a smirk. “I just choose to ignore the guidelines. Free will, man. Don’t let _ them _brainwash you.”

“Free stupidity, more like.”

“Ah, they’ve caught another unfortunate soul in their web of lies.” Akarsha put a hand to her forehead dramatically, then held onto Noelle’s shoulders and bumped their foreheads together. “It’s okay, we can fix you.”

“What…” Noelle’s eyes widened and her cheeks burned, but she didn’t pull away. “Get… away, you… weirdo.”

Akarsha looked at her, grinning. “Not until we’ve reversed _ their _brainwashing.”

“Gross,” Min said with a frown. “We’re leaving you guys behind. Bye.”

Eventually, Noelle and Akarsha fell back in step with Diya and Min. They turned into the local dog park, much to Diya’s delight. Her entire presence lit up immediately, a huge dorky grin plastered to her face. The second she said she wanted to go there together in the group chat, none of them could refuse.

This time, they went to see the small dogs. Even Noelle, who was usually immune to fun, couldn’t keep the smile off her face. Slight, but a definite smile. Akarsha stared at her, grinning. 

“What’re you looking at?” Noelle asked defensively as she continued to pet the ball of fluff currently sprawled in her lap.

“Dunno,” Akarsha shrugged, “the label fell off.”

“Har-dee-har.”

“Glad you finally recognize me for the comedic genius I am.”

Noelle scoffed. “Hardly.”

She would never say it, but… being here with others, especially Akarsha, made her… happy. It wasn’t something she was used to feeling before she met them all. They helped broaden her horizon, showed her that there was more to life than grades. Maybe she could tell them that… one day.

Meanwhile, Min and Diya laid down on their backs, surrounded by dogs as they stared at the sky. Diya gently squeezed Min’s hand, the other tangled in a pile of fluff.

“This is great.”

“You know,” Min turned to look at her, “we could come here every day.”

“We could?!”

“Yeah!” Min nodded enthusiastically, ready to promise Diya the world if she asked. “One day, we’ll build a dog sanctuary and we’ll have this in our backyard. Every. Day.”

Diya’s eyes sparkled. “That’d be awesome!!!”

Min smiled. She didn’t know how they had survived being torn apart. Now, it felt like they’d been together forever, like nothing had changed… but _ everything _had changed… for the better.

“Okay, Frenchie,” Akarsha suddenly announced, “let’s get some baguette!”

Not waiting for a response, she grabbed Noelle and pulled them towards some street food stalls they’d passed on the way over. 

“I’m _ starving _.”

“I seriously doubt that,” Noelle muttered.

“If only you knew my hunger.” Akarsha shook her head forlornly. “Besides, it gives Min and Diya time to chill together. And us, too.”

“I’d rather run twenty laps.”

“You’d literally die before doing one. No, wait, even just from _ looking _at the field.”

“That was the point.”

Akarsha put a hand to her chest. “Aw, love you too.”

Noelle’s eyes widened at the word. She shook her head, then turned away. It was stupid, stupid how her heart jumped just then. Akarsha took her hand again, this time more gently, as they walked towards the stalls. Noelle let her, her cheeks burning. This was all so so stupid… but also the best feeling she had ever experienced. She couldn’t imagine her life without Akarsha. No, that wasn’t true. She could, vividly, and... she didn’t like it.

“You… aren’t going anywhere, right?”

The question genuinely stunned Akarsha. It took her a solid three seconds to recover, and another two seconds to stifle the knee jerk joke response. Noelle sounded like she could cry at any moment. 

“Nah, who would annoy you without me around? Someone’s gotta do it.”

Noelle didn’t say a word. All she did was squeeze Akarsha’s hand.

With Akarsha and Noelle’s quick exit, Min and Diya found a bench to sit on. Diya fidgeted, fiddling with the bag she was still holding. They’d asked her about it on the way here, but she didn’t say what was in it. Now, she was finding it hard to bring up. Especially when Min looked at her. It made her brain turn to mush.

“Still didn’t give you $100,” Diya finally blurted out.

“For what?”

“Our bet.”

“Oh, yeah.” Min shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.”

Diya’s expression turned determined. She wouldn’t back down, not now.

“I don’t have $100, but…” 

She glanced at the bag in her hand, her grip tightening before she thrust it towards Min. Feeling her heart pound in her chest, Min took the bag. There was a bunch of newspaper inside, covering whatever Diya wanted to give her. The bag, it appeared, was much bigger than whatever was inside. With uncharacteristic caution, Min removed each scrunched up layer of paper until she saw it. 

“A… baseball.”

“From the game.” Diya nodded enthusiastically, smiling. “Where we met.”

“You…” Min tilted her head curiously, “...stole it?”

Diya shook her head, mortified at the suggestion. “Asked if I could have it.”

Of course Diya did, she would never steal something. Min gently turned the worn ball in her hands. There were several scuff marks and some of the stitching was coming loose. It looked like Diya had tried, and failed, to fix it several times.

“You… kept it all this time.”

“Made it feel like you were here, cheering me on. Like you did back then.”

Diya’s smile was earnest and unwavering. The same smile from when she was a kid, kind and comforting. Min’s looked between Diya and the ball, feeling her eyes sting. She tried to hold back the tears but failed miserably. Crying always made her feel weak. Around Diya… maybe she didn’t mind so much. 

When Diya noticed, she stiffened with worry. Her eyes were wide, unsure what she should do. Wiping her face on her sleeve, Min pulled her girlfriend into a firm hug. 

“Thank you. I’ll look after it as well as you did.”

It took Diya a moment to relax, then she promptly returned the hug. 

“I know.”

When they finally pulled apart, Diya wiped away some of Min’s tears with her thumb, others with tender kisses to her cheeks.

“Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeew, cooties.”

Their heads snapped to the source of the sound, spotting Akarsha and Noelle approaching. They had something in their hands, food containers. Min jumped to her feet, ready to fight on instinct. 

“Shut your fuck up.”

Akarsha doubled over cackling and slapped her knee. 

“You guys are _ too cute _.”

“Say that again,” Min growled as she stomped over to them.

Akarsha shoved the food containers towards Noelle, then sprinted away laughing. “YOU GUYS ARE TOO CUTE! IT’S ALMOST GROSS! OH DIYA, I LOVE YOU! MWAAA!”

With a shriek of rage, Min gave chase. Diya watched them, body tensing as she debated chasing after them before someone got hurt. 

“They’ll wear themselves out eventually,” Noelle reassured, sitting down on the bench and opening her food. “We should eat before it gets cold.”

Diya sat down, keeping an eye on Min and Akarsha as they raced around the park. Min had speed on her side, but Akarsha had… well, she wasn’t quite sure _ what _, but it was definitely something. When it was clear nobody was getting murdered today, despite Min’s numerous declarations, Diya smiled to herself. 

She really was lucky. So lucky.

**Author's Note:**

> Wish I had more time to expand on this, but it’s something lol. Maybe I can get back to it for a second part at some point. Have an awesome day!


End file.
